Howard was an engaging man who found much to enjoy and much to analyze in everything he did. A lifelong Hoosier, he took pride in his early achievements on the playing fields of Mooresville High, at Culver Academies Summer School and as an Eagle Scout Order of the Arrow. Upon earning a degree in business from Indiana University in 1952, he married Joan Rushworth and took her to Nagoya, Japan, compliments of the U.S. Air Force.
After returning stateside, Howard honed his business skills, love of numbers and story-telling abilities as general manager of a Huntingburg furniture company and a Frankfort radio station and, finally, as an accountant in New York City. Once he earned his CPA, he returned to Indiana where he joined the Irwin Management Company of Columbus, Ind., in 1963. There he remained for 32 years, eventually retiring as Vice President of Taxes.
Howard’s love of I.U. sports was legendary, and his involvement in the Columbus community was substantial and diverse. He solicited for the United Way and served as board president for the Bartholomew County Hospital Foundation (where he helped launch the Hospice and EMT programs), the First United Methodist Church Foundation, The Commons and the Foundation for Youth. He also served as a board member for the Columbus Enterprise Development Corporation and the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, and he helped found the South Central Indiana Chapter of the Institute of Management Accountants. In recent years, he was a staunch supporter of Mill Race Center, Hospice and Heritage Fund.
Born in Bloomington, Ind., November 19, 1930, Howard was the son of George and Frances Gabriel Pearcy. He is preceded in death by his wife, Joan; his parents, his stepfather, D.L. Lichtenwalter; and his sister and brother-in-law, Alice (Bob) Jones. Howard is survived by his daughter, Sharon (Tim) Hill; son, Jeff (Donna) Pearcy; grandchildren, Amanda (Lance) Davis, Austin (Megan) Pearcy and Martha (Kevin) Carroll; four great grandchildren and several nieces, nephews and cousins.
A celebration of life will be held at a later date. Memorial contributions may be made to Mill Race Center, 900 Lindsey St., Columbus, IN 47201 or online at millracecenter.org; or Our Hospice of South Central Indiana, 2626 17th St., Columbus, IN 47201 or online at hospiceofsouthcentralindiana.org
Hathaway-Myers Chapel is serving the Pearcy family.
